220 Year-old Time Capsule Opened in Massachusetts

A time capsule packed with items by Samuel Adams and Paul Revere on the 20th Independence Day was opened at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts today.

From Reuters:

Engraved silver plate from capsule

The corroded 10-pound (4.5-kg) brass box, removed from beneath the state house last month, was painstakingly dismantled and unpacked by custodians at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts in a gallery hung with oil portraits of both men.

Among the items in the box were two dozen coins including a 1652 Pine Tree Shilling struck by colonists in defiance of England, a bronze medal portraying George Washington, a silver plate made by Revere, and colonial records and newspapers.

The capsule was first placed under the cornerstone of the 18th-century state house building, a Boston landmark topped by a gilded copper dome made by Revere's company, on July 4, 1795 in recognition of America's 20th anniversary of independence.

Interestingly, the time capsule was opened once before...

The unveiling marked the first time its contents have been seen publicly since 1855, when it was also removed from the cornerstone, the items inside cleaned, and other items like newspapers and coins added.

..and it's expected to go back under the cornerstone at some point in the near future, possibly with some additional items from our own era.

I was wondering about this lately. I knew they found the time capsule but didn't know what was in it. Thank you! How cool!!!!!!!

a reply to: theantediluvian

I looked at the caption from underneath the picture of the folded newspaper, and all I could think was why didn't they upload pictures of the paper after carefully unfolding it? Here's the caption from beneath the photo:

Newspapers removed from a time capsule, which was placed under a cornerstone of the State House in 1795, sit in archival boxes at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, January 6, 2015.

This is 2015! They should take hi resolution photos before dumping it in an archival box, never to be seen again. Nice find.

originally posted by: theantediluvian

..and it's expected to go back under the cornerstone at some point in the near future, possibly with some additional items from our own era.

Awesome story.
I have to admit, the quote above was my favourite part.
It's amazing to see these things - even more amazing to record them, present them to the public, and then put them back where they came from, with more items from our time. I love it.

a reply to: Awen24

I think it's a pretty damn cool idea too.

originally posted by: theantediluvian
A time capsule packed with items by Samuel Adams and Paul Revere on the 20th Independence Day was opened at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts today.

From Reuters:

Engraved silver plate from capsule

The corroded 10-pound (4.5-kg) brass box, removed from beneath the state house last month, was painstakingly dismantled and unpacked by custodians at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts in a gallery hung with oil portraits of both men.

Among the items in the box were two dozen coins including a 1652 Pine Tree Shilling struck by colonists in defiance of England, a bronze medal portraying George Washington, a silver plate made by Revere, and colonial records and newspapers.

The capsule was first placed under the cornerstone of the 18th-century state house building, a Boston landmark topped by a gilded copper dome made by Revere's company, on July 4, 1795 in recognition of America's 20th anniversary of independence.

Interestingly, the time capsule was opened once before...

The unveiling marked the first time its contents have been seen publicly since 1855, when it was also removed from the cornerstone, the items inside cleaned, and other items like newspapers and coins added.

..and it's expected to go back under the cornerstone at some point in the near future, possibly with some additional items from our own era.

Should they put a can of Sam Adams Lager in it?

My goodness, I hope they don't put anything from our pop culture in, I would be embarrassed for the future to know how bad we were.